Pennsylvania

The Pennsylvania Association of Teachers of Colored Children (PATCC) was founded in 1916 by Dr. Leslie Pinckney Hill, longtime President of Cheyney Training School for Teachers. The association began as a joint meeting between Black teachers in Pennsylvania and Delaware to study and address the unique education and social problems confronting Black people in the two states.¹ Issues of racial discrimination and school segregation were primary concerns of the early association, and member teachers aimed to carefully document and report on how these problems affected the learning conditions of Black children in the two states. Shortly after this initial meeting, the dual state organization split into two: the PATCC and the Delaware State Teachers Association. The PATCC provided a robust professional and politically active network for Pennsylvania’s Black teachers from 1916 through the 1960s.

From its founding, the PATCC focused on studying ways to improve teaching and learning in Pennsylvania’s Black schools. This included documenting and analyzing the challenges facing Black students in the state. The association provided a platform for promoting the professional and civic development of Black teachers, as well as “an open forum in which to study [Black children’s] problems and to consider and act upon plans for working together more effectively in our schools…”² The PATCC believed that a strong corps of Black educators could support the organization’s twin goals of racial uplift and interracial cooperation.

The PATCC adopted a unique organizational structure to facilitate its goals. In 1938, the association created four sub-divisions based on geographical areas: Philadelphia, West Chester, Harrisburg, and Chester. Each district had its own constitution and elected officials, and each district held three meetings per year, where teachers could convene to discuss and collaborate around educational issues facing their local context.³ As one example of the district meeting structure, the first meeting could focus on the role of the teacher and the life of the community; the second on the role of schools and society as well as other civic issues; and the third might include invited speakers.⁴ The state organization also held an annual meeting that convened members from throughout Pennsylvania.

The PATCC was also well-connected with the American Teachers Association and the regional Colored Teachers Associations in the Northeast. In 1937, the PATCC was the first state association north of the Mason-Dixon line to host the annual meeting of the National Association of Teachers in Colored Schools, and the association participated in regular meetings with state associations from New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, the District of Columbia, and Black teachers from New York (collectively referred to as “Region V”).⁵

The question of separate schools for Black children in Pennsylvania (and most notably, Philadelphia) shaped the PATCC’s political advocacy throughout the 1940s. Although Pennsylvania passed a law in 1881 outlawing racial segregation in schools, separate schools for Black students in the state steadily increased in the first decades of the 20th century. In Philadelphia, the Board of Education implemented two policies that hindered Black teachers’ job opportunities while furthering school segregation: first, in 1908, the Board began a dual appointment system whereby Black and White teacher candidates would be appointed from racially distinct eligibility lists; and second, the Board refused to appoint any Black teacher candidates to mixed race or all-White schools.⁶

The PATCC navigated this hostile political climate through advocacy for policies that would strengthen the job opportunities for Black teachers while also protecting and promoting the learning condition of Black children. In a series of debates that unfolded within the Black community in the 1920s and 30s regarding school segregation in the state, the PATCC often positioned itself in support of separate Black schools. For at least some members of the PATCC, separate Black educational institutions were a way for the Black community to “define [their] powers, set up a platform, and co-operate as a group.”⁷ By the mid-1930s and into the 1940s, the PATCC’s advocacy shifted to focus on equitable integration of Black teachers into the city’s junior and senior high schools and incorporation of Black history into school curriculum. Throughout this work, the association worked closely with local civic and civil rights groups.

During the 1940s, the PATCC continued to expand their social and civic activities, especially in Philadelphia. The association used a variety of approaches to engage with the Black community. They regularly hosted a radio program which invited guests to discuss to discuss the day’s pressing educational issues, and hosted competitions that enabled Black children to showcase their knowledge of Black history.⁸ The PATCC also collaborated with other civil and fraternal organizations, such as the Delta Sigma Thetas, to offer support and guidance for community members looking for work opportunities.⁹ Additionally, the association held an annual picnic that included a variety of leisure activities, such as a hobby show, sports, and games.¹⁰

In 1949, the PATCC changed its name to the Association of Pennsylvania Teachers, in recognition of the trend toward integration in the state. The association continued to be professionally and civically engaged until at least the early 1960s.

Footnotes

¹ “Teachers of Two States Form an Association,” Philadelphia Tribune (1912- ), Dec. 16, 1916, pg. 1.

²“Education Of Negro Child Is Discussed,” Philadelphia Tribune (1912- ), June 6, 1929.

³ “Pennsylvania Association of Teachers of Colored Children,” The Bulletin: Official Organ of the American Teachers Association. Montgomery, Alabama: American Teachers Association. Volume 18. No. 2. July 1941. Gelman Library, George Washington University. Black Teacher Archive, seq. 45.

⁴ “The Pennsylvania Association of Teachers of Colored Children,” The Bulletin: Official Organ of the American Teachers Association. Montgomery, Alabama: American Teachers Association. Volume 19. No. 2. Oct. 1942. Gelman Library, George Washington University. Black Teacher Archive, seq 31.

⁵ “Region V at Howard University: April 29, 1944,” The Bulletin: Official Organ of the American Teachers Association. Montgomery, Alabama: American Teachers Association. Volume 20. No. 2. Apr.-June 1944. Gelman Library, George Washington University. Black Teacher Archive, seq. 9 – 10.

⁶ Vincent P. Franklin, The Education of Black Philadelphia: The Social and Educational History of a Minority Community, 1900-1950 (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1979).

⁷ “Separate School Is Discussed by Pedagogues” Philadelphia Tribune (1912-), May 22, 1926, pg. 1.

⁸ “PATCC Hears Talk On Radio Program,” Philadelphia Tribune (1912-), March 6, 1948.

⁹ “Delta Sigma Thetas Celebrate May Week,” Philadelphia Tribune (1912-), May 18, 1948.

¹⁰ Ora Lee Brinkley, “On the Brink,” Philadelphia Tribune (1912- ), Jun. 18, 1949, pg. 6

• Association of Teachers of the Colored Schools of Delaware and Pennsylvania (original name, 1916)
• Association of Pennsylvania Teachers (named changed, 1949)

The Explorer, monthly publication, approximately 1939 to 1945 

• Dr. Leslie P. Hill (founder, 1916)
• George Lyle (1924 – 25)
• J. R. Fugett (1925 – 26)
• Dr. J. H. N. Waring (1927)
• Mr. Tanner G. Duckrey (1927 – 1929)
• Mr. Arthur H. Faucet (1930 - ?) 
• Mr. James H. Young (1933)
• Mrs. Mallaviere C. Russell (1934)
• Mr. Clarence Whyte (1935 – 37)
• Dr. John H. Brodhead (1938 – 1940)
• Raymond Lemmon (resigned 1940)
• Mr. Joseph R. Fugett (1941 ~ 1942)
• Mrs. Edith Hurley (1940 ~ 1945)
• Mrs. Ethel J. Sergeant (1944 ?) 
• Mrs. Mabel Gates (1945 - 1946)
• Mr. Byron Reed (1946 ~ ?)
• Dr. John H. Brodhead (1948 ?)
• Mrs. Mallaviere C. Smith (1948 ~ ?)
• Edythe H. Ingraham (1949 ~ 1954)
• Mrs. Janet Stovall (1956 ~1957)
• Mrs. Barbara S. Prigmore (1958)
• Mrs. Olive G. Snead (1960 ~ 1962)

*please note: a “(?)” or “~” indicates exact dates are uncertain at this time)